Wednesday, September 21, 2011

This girl, Amanda, is attempting to SMEAR my friends, Gecko Trail Adventures, Hotel Banana Azul and Easy Ride Shuttle Service on the internet.

Here's what happened:

We received this email yesterday from some girl named, Amanda. For this post she will now be referred to as, 'The Whining, Complaining, Gringa Bitch' or just 'Bitch' for short. Here's Bitch's email:

"If you are considering using the services of Gecko Trail Adventures, here is my experience, so traveler beware.

They insist that you pay in advance by credit card and they issue a voucher. For example travel is $40 per person from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. My flight was delayed and I called to move the shared shuttle to the next day and they refused to honor the voucher. They claim when you call them that its because they have independent contractors providing the shuttle service, but I think that's a poor excuse.

This company works with Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo. I strongly recommend avoiding them. Of course the best way to not get ripped off is to not pay companies in advance, but to pay cash for services rendered. This was a special circumstance, my brother's honeymoon, so I wanted to make it hassle free for him and pay everything in advance. I have learned my lesson with Gecko. I hope you will choose not to use them and go with a more reputable provider."

I won't bother you with the details but the bottom line is, 'Bitch' didn't read the cancellation policy of Easy Ride Shuttle Service and tried to switch shit up last minute and fact is, Gecko Trails did try to accommodate but it was just too last minute. Therefore, no refund. Could you imagine trying to run a shuttle service where people were attempting to change the schedule last minute... and then demand a refund when things don't go their way? And then have the audacity to threaten a 'battle' on the internet by emailing everyone associated with said event (like us) and attempting a 'character assassination' on sites such as TripAdvisor?

If you're going to STAND-UP for something, it helps if you have TRUTH on your side... think of me as Tank 1, Gecko Trail Adventures as Tank 2, Easy Ride as 3 and Banana Azul 4..."BITCH, you need to BACK OFF."

First and foremost, we LOVE constructive feedback and it is VERY much appreciated but what we don't like is when people don't take responsibility for their irresponsibility and attempt to BLAME others for it... and then 'threaten' when they don't get their way.. Since we work exclusively with Gecko Trail Adventures because we LOVE them, we happen to know they go OUT of their way to make things right, sometimes breaking their own rules and policies in order to do so. *We've got countless emails praising Gecko Trails and thanking us for recommending them, this is the FIRST negative one in over 14 months. So, when Bitch attacks them and thinks we will automatically back her without finding out the facts (which we did), we take it personally. Bitch may as well of called MY mom a bitch.

Oh, I almost forgot, she also mentions one of our favorite hotels in ALL of Costa Rica, Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo,like they should be avoided because they're associated with Gecko... BITCH PLEASE

Please, go on TripAdvisor or other websites that post reviews: Nine and a half times out of ten, both Gecko Trails and Hotel Banana Azul receive glowing reviews, hopefully making Bitch's gripe, irrelevant. But yes, I'm sure both have screwed-up in the past and when you work with people EVERYDAY, that's inevitable but in the overall BIG Picture- both are top-shelf companies and go out of their way to please and make things right.

*Yeah, follow Bitch's advice and tell the Shuttle Service you promise to pay them when you see them, then let me know how that works for you. Credit Cards/PayPal are pretty much used universally to 'book' things and furthermore, Cancellation Policies are also pretty much the same in the travel biz.

I'll probably be accused of being too mean to 'Bitch', but trust me, I've seen all the emails and I just don't like her threatening manner and besides, if my mom happened to be a bitch, I would admit to it.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Living in a tourist town like La Fortuna, Costa Rica, we often get the opportunity to talk with folks who have seen our videos or cruised around our blogs and website. Usually, it's because they recognize us on the street and are kind enough to come up and say, "Thanx guys, we appreciate all the INFO, keep up the good work." It happened to me yesterday while riding my bike. These guys were so NICE- said they had seen most of our videos and were doing many of the things on their travels that we had recommended. As a matter of fact, they had just had pizza at 'Just Good Food' who we had just done a video for (you can see itHEREif you want) and they loved it.... *At first I was a little nervous to ask if they enjoyed the food, because although I love 'Just Good Food' every now and then they under cook the pizza.... WHEW!

Which leads me to my point.

We take what we DO very seriously and are very cautious on who we 'get in bed with'. We don't want to be like 'most' websites pertaining to Costa Rica travel, which seem intent on 'pushing paradise' at any cost in order to make a few bucks off unsuspecting tourists.

Travel Costa Rica NOW won't go to bed with just ANYONE either.

If the people or businesses we get in bed with aren't all they say they are, then we're NOT interested and if we were to get hookwinked for a minute or two, we'd tell you and then KICK the BUSINESS to the CURB. So, just like yesterday, we're fairly certain 9 out of 10 people will LOVE Vamos 4X4 if they rent a car from them and the same goes for Gecko Trail Adventures, who is the travel agency we recommend (video below). When we were researching if we wanted to recommend Vamos 4X4 or not, we were talking with the owner, George S. and he told me he wasn't in it for the money, rather he loved what he was doing and if he couldn't do it with integrity and honesty than he wouldn't do it.. and unlike many Costa Rican businesses here, he does believe the 'Customer is King', and take my word, although that's mostly true in the United States, it isn't here- so it's appreciated. And after further investigation, he wasn't kidding. And the exact same principles are held by the folks at Gecko Trail Adventures. I can't tell you how nice and refreshing it is to run into like minded people or businesses here in Costa Rica.

And the same goes for the Adventure Tours D'Angelo and I will be selling in La Fortuna, when we say we will SAVE you a TON of money, we hope you know it's TRUE (actually, do your homework and compare, we're sure you'll be BACK!)

I'll HANG here until you decide to come back.

Anyway, THANX to all the people who take the time to give us a SHOUT OUT! And also want to say, "THANX" to the folks at Vamos 4X4 and Gecko Trail Adventures for believing in us as much as we believe in THEM. pura vida.

In case you haven't seen them, our videos for Vamos 4X4 Car Rental Agency and the Travel Agency we work with and recommend, Gecko Trail Adventures. ENjoY!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Jennifer Lopez who works part-time at Central Line Bus Co. based in San Jose, sold us bus tickets in Nicaragua knowing full well the bus didn't go anywhere near to our destination.

Well, I haven't heard from the folks at Central Line. I thought for sure they would get in touch, defending their fucked-up position.

Don't know what I'm talking about (or the Jennifer Lopez connection)? The FULL story is here: 'This BUS Co. Tries to Pull a FAST One'Bottom line- We were crossing the border at Penas Blancas (Nicragua and Costa Rica border crossing) and this Jennifer Lopez lookalike just told us shit we wanted to hear knowing full well it wasn't true... all for $28.

Anyway, Central Line, I forgot to give you our email address so we could chat about an apology and FULL refund. Contact us here: TravelCostaRicaNOW@gmail.com Look forward to hearing from you. And if and when you make good, I will post it. Pura Vida!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

If we're going to sell adventure tours in La Fortuna Costa Rica for CHEAP, we got to at least experience them...right?

D'Angelo and I (okay, mostly D'Angelo) have been working double overtime to get our 'Adventure Tours in La Fortuna' we'll be selling (VERY CHEAP!) on our websites so you can take advantage of the savings as soon as possible. I first explained what we would be doing a couple weeks ago, CHEAP Tours in Costa Rica - We're Here for YOU! which details why and how we can sell them so CHEAP! But the bottom line is, we want YOU to have the BEST time ever in Costa Rica, without shelling out BIG BUCKS to do so. And we're talking ALL the tours- Rappelling, zip lines, fishing, biking, hot springs, rafting/kayaking, hiking adventures such as the Rio Celeste and Cerro Chato hikes and much more. In ALL, you'll be able to pick from about 50 different tours offered in the La Fortuna area. And believe me, we'll save you BIG TIME!

And of course we just had to do a couple of the tours ourselves for video footage and pics. Here's some pics of TWO of the BEST tours in La Fortuna- the Canopy Tour aka zip lines and Canyoneering in the jungle... WHOO HOO!

Me, getting ready to go down one of the cables on the zip line tour.

Took the tram up to start the zip line tour, CHECK OUT this view of the Arenal Volcano.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Us and our friends go to 'Just Good Food' in La Fortuna Costa Rica when we want a cheap, good meal.

Finding good, CHEAP food in La Fortuna Costa Rica can sometimes be a difficult task this being a tourist town and all but after living here for 6 years we've managed to find a few places. One such place, almost in the center of town, is called, 'Just Good Food'.

We're not talking gourmet here, we're talking good food at some of the cheapest prices in Costa Rica. I'm not saying the service is always top notch and we have had a not-so-good meal there, but 9 times out of 10 we've been happy, especially when we get the bill and double especially when we leave with a doggy bag.

NO, it's not all natural but it will fill you up at a reasonable price with some leftover for breakfast.

Traveling on a budget and/or don't want to pay an arm and a leg 'Just Good Food' might be a great option.... Check OUT our video for, 'Just Good Food':

We think Central Line should educate their employees a little, okay, a LOT, better on where their buses actually GO.

This post is a HEADS UP for anyone traveling from the Penas Blancas border crossing to the La Fortuna area. If this just helps 1 person, I'll be happy. Here's what happened. If you're not familiar with the border crossing you can view the video below and maybe get a sense of it all. *And for the record, understanding or speaking Spanish was not part of the problem, so it wasn't a 'communication' thing.

We had just arrived from Granada, Nicaragua to the Penas Blancas border crossing and as were were starting the process we were met by an attractive, well dressed woman, wearing a crispy, clean uniform, complete with identification badge and I should mention, her make-up was Jennifer Lopez perfect. She asked us if we needed a bus. Now, I've crossed this border about 29,000 times, so I was pretty sure she couldn't help us since there's only 1 bus that goes even close to La Fortuna (El Tanque to be exact, which is only about 5 minutes away from La Fortuna).

But, when we mentioned La Fortuna, she said yes, "Central Line goes right past there." I was skeptical. We asked again, this time she confirmed it with another attractive woman who also appeared to work for Central Line. The tickets were about $14. each. As she explained this was a direct shot, so NO stops and the best part, for me anyway, the bus had a restroom. Not only were we going to save a couple hours but also not get all anxious about when the next pee stop would be (I know a few of you out there can relate to that). As we were paying for the tickets, we asked again to make doubly sure.Jennifer even told us how long it would take and she was right, 3 1/2 hours. I was satisfied. I just thought, 'finally, a bus line realizes La Fortuna should have it's own STOP.'

Central Line charged me $14.00 for this piece of paper so I decided to keep it.

Obviously, you know where this is going. In the end J-lo ended up being full of shit. Miss Lopez telling me the bus stopped close to La Fortuna would be like an airline telling you the flight can get you to Maine from Florida,,, but then conveniently forgetting to mention you would have to get a connection in California because that is where the plane is actually going. WHOOPS! Needless to say, we almost missed our 'regular' bus and believe me, you don't want to be stuck overnight at the border. Think we got our money back? Nope (and we tried). Didn't have time to argue, we had to complete our crossing and if it's busy, it can take awhile, so no REAL time to argue or at least punch these ladies in the throat and run.

Moral of the story. Ask the driver before boarding where in the hell the bus is going, which is exactly how we found out Jennifer Lopez was talking shit.

Dear Central Line, you need to make this RIGHT and if and when you do, I'll post it. Unfortunately, I can't help but doubt you will since this isn't the United States, here it seems the customer is rarely right. Sorry, just going from my experience... but I would LOVE for you to prove me wrong. pura vida.

This video about crossing the border at Penas Blancas was done quite awhile ago but it still accurate. Check it out.